Squad Wins High Honors
Saturday 11|14|2009 Filed in: Operations
Edison Squad 2 was named “Outstanding Volunteer EMS
Agency” for 2009 at the recent NJ EMS Awards Dinner
in Atlantic City
Capping off what will be a historic year for Squad 2
was the awarding of the title of “Outstanding
Volunteer EMS Agency” for 2009 by the NJ Department
of Health and the NJ EMS Council at the recent NJ EMS
Awards Dinner held at the Sheraton Atlantic City
Convention Center Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.
The award, given annually for the past seven years at EMS dinner, honors the volunteer EMS squad who embraces the highest ideals of EMS service, professionalism and dedication to the community. Nominations are submitted to a panel of judges from the NJ EMS Council, a governor-appointed advisory group to NJ’s EMS community. The award is one of several given out to honor success in a number of EMS-related categories.
The squad was chosen from among eight nominees out of the 500+ volunteer rescue squads in the state. Contributing to the squad’s achievement is, according to President Daniel Januseski, a strong youth recruitment program, a peer-review clinical training and competency program, and the use of technology in staff scheduling, communications and response.
“Our recruiting efforts, both online and during community events, have allowed us to increase squad membership by over 40% in just the last two years” said Januseski. “And with our new member Preceptor training program, over 90% of our brand new members pass their state EMS class on the first try”. Other successful squad endeavors include being the first agency in their area to train and carry the life -saving Auto-injector Epinephrine pens ( “epi-pens” ), the creation of the Special Teams and Resources (STAR) Group consisting of the Mass Care, Rehab, Incident Planning and Bike EMS teams, and the introduction of the “Autopulse” CPR device from Zoll Medical, the first volunteer agency to successfully deploy it in the field.
“The Autopulse has become our new weapon against sudden cardiac arrest” announced Phil Taglianetti, Captain of Squad 2. “With just a few hours of lecture and hands-on training, our crews were comfortable enough to use it in the field, and we’ve already had 2 successful CPR saves with it in just under 8 months. We hope to acquire a second device and continue to provide Zoll with important feedback on their product while providing even better care to our citizens”.
The squad also showcased it’s improved staffing model and scheduling system, which has helped reduce average response times to just under 7 minutes, better than many large urban EMS programs. Finally, Squad 2’s leadership in bringing a new era of cooperation among all three of Edison’s squads is leading to a better system all-around and a significant cost-savings to Edison Township, added Januseski
Squad members at the EMS Dinner to receive the award were President Januseski, EMS Director Stephen Caunt, Captain Philip Taglianetti and Lt. Neel Mehta. Edison Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano and her husband Joe were on hand to witness the event and support the squad.
The award, given annually for the past seven years at EMS dinner, honors the volunteer EMS squad who embraces the highest ideals of EMS service, professionalism and dedication to the community. Nominations are submitted to a panel of judges from the NJ EMS Council, a governor-appointed advisory group to NJ’s EMS community. The award is one of several given out to honor success in a number of EMS-related categories.
The squad was chosen from among eight nominees out of the 500+ volunteer rescue squads in the state. Contributing to the squad’s achievement is, according to President Daniel Januseski, a strong youth recruitment program, a peer-review clinical training and competency program, and the use of technology in staff scheduling, communications and response.
“Our recruiting efforts, both online and during community events, have allowed us to increase squad membership by over 40% in just the last two years” said Januseski. “And with our new member Preceptor training program, over 90% of our brand new members pass their state EMS class on the first try”. Other successful squad endeavors include being the first agency in their area to train and carry the life -saving Auto-injector Epinephrine pens ( “epi-pens” ), the creation of the Special Teams and Resources (STAR) Group consisting of the Mass Care, Rehab, Incident Planning and Bike EMS teams, and the introduction of the “Autopulse” CPR device from Zoll Medical, the first volunteer agency to successfully deploy it in the field.
“The Autopulse has become our new weapon against sudden cardiac arrest” announced Phil Taglianetti, Captain of Squad 2. “With just a few hours of lecture and hands-on training, our crews were comfortable enough to use it in the field, and we’ve already had 2 successful CPR saves with it in just under 8 months. We hope to acquire a second device and continue to provide Zoll with important feedback on their product while providing even better care to our citizens”.
The squad also showcased it’s improved staffing model and scheduling system, which has helped reduce average response times to just under 7 minutes, better than many large urban EMS programs. Finally, Squad 2’s leadership in bringing a new era of cooperation among all three of Edison’s squads is leading to a better system all-around and a significant cost-savings to Edison Township, added Januseski
Squad members at the EMS Dinner to receive the award were President Januseski, EMS Director Stephen Caunt, Captain Philip Taglianetti and Lt. Neel Mehta. Edison Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano and her husband Joe were on hand to witness the event and support the squad.
